'They are defiant'

Diane Taylor and Naomi Gayle have extensive experience and hands-on involvement with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Youth Development Programme. Taylor, who co-ordinates the programme, and Gayle, who teaches a range of subjects to boys aged 12 to 16 years old, have been with YMCA for about 12 and 10 years, respectively.

They agree that in their time seeing students pass through the four-year programme, which combines academic, technical and life skills instruction, the current group of 117 students display the worst behaviour they have experienced.

Of course, not all the students are disruptive, but the miscreants dominate.

"This set, they are more defiant. They don't follow the school rules as other groups before, the level of disrespect to the teachers, the staff," Gayle said. Then there are the fights, not only fist-to-fist but also with ice picks, scissors and knives. She said students have been hurt in the altercations, but not seriously.

There is immense interest in the Gully and Gaza strains of dancehall, name brand clothing and, of course, girls.

avoiding confrontations

Gayle said that the staff has been able to head off many of the confrontations. "Sometimes we sense things before they happen and we know where they have weapons hidden," Gayle said.

Taylor explains that "we have a school resource officer, who comes in at least once a week, and we liaise with the Half-Way Tree police".

She said the programme gets support from students at the University of the West Indies and United Theological College of the West Indies, who are placed at the YMCA and do counselling.

Students in the YMCA's Youth Development Programme are enrolled through recommendations from the Ministry of Education, referrals from the Mico Care Centre as well as individuals, the Family Court and children's homes. There are several dropouts from other schools, as well as slow learners. They take students who have been expelled from other schools, but the boys are required to do counselling.

The programme is open to street boys (it was once called the Street Corner Boys' Programme), but Gayle said "they never stay.

Sarah Newland-Martin, the YMCA's general secretary, has, however, noted the demand on the programme, saying that each year she gets more and more requests for the institution's services, hence the resources are thinly stretched.

She also pointed out that "some of the challenges faced have to do with the social ills in our society. When there is a flare-up in a community, students are not able to attend school. In some cases, we lose them to the violent crimes which beset our society, and the serious problem of the lack of positive male role models in their lives hamper their growth and development. They suffer from low self-esteem and often do things to get attention".

- M.C.